Abandoned by All I Took It All Back novel Chapter 100

It wasn't that they had meant to eavesdrop.

Janina had simply doubled back, wanting to tell Summer that she could help her get a gown for the gala.

She had almost forgotten about her trump card: the Nova Group. Why would she need to buy a dress?

Summer had been the first person to show her kindness when she moved in with the Gable family.

She desperately wanted to help this poor woman, just as Summer had once helped her.

They were kindred spirits, after all. Women helping women—there was nothing wrong with that.

But when she came back, she overheard the conversation between Summer and Vincent in the hospital room.

Summer had it on speakerphone, so the four of them outside the door heard every single word. It was enough to make their blood boil.

Later that day, Janina learned from a nurse about Summer's condition: late-stage pancreatic cancer.

The next day, when Janina went to see Summer, she found her getting ready to leave the hospital. Summer seemed momentarily stunned to see Janina visiting her.

It had been a long time since she had felt cared for by anyone.

So long that she had almost forgotten what it was like to matter to someone.

At first, Summer maintained a distant, indifferent attitude.

She felt that someone as tainted as her didn't deserve their kindness.

But the persistent warmth from Janina and her friends gradually melted that icy exterior.

Janina, Maggie, Melody, and Wendy visited her every day, talking with her, and slowly, Summer began to accept their friendship.

The cramped room was filled with faded curtains that fluttered in the autumn breeze. On the bedside table sat five or six different kinds of painkillers.

Melody was on set filming and couldn't make it, but she joined the conversation via video call.

They learned more from Summer about what had happened between her, Vincent, and Iris.

"After graduation, we moved to Solara. Everything was going well at first. To support his career, I stepped back from mine, writing from home. Vincent needed someone behind the scenes to help him with planning and promotion, and I became that person. That's also when Iris showed up."

"Vincent said Iris was the little sister he grew up with. I believed him. I even agreed to let her move into our home. From that day on, my life changed. Iris used every trick in the book to frame me, to slander me, painting herself as the victim and me as the abuser."

Summer's expression darkened as she recalled the painful memories that had once driven her to the brink of suicide. If not for her aging parents, she might have ended her life years ago.

"Being stalked, being forced to do drugs, being kidnapped, assaulted, raped, even self-harm—it was all staged by her. But in the end, I was the one blamed for all of it…"